Maldives: Suspected jihadists held over stabbings

The victims were attacked on the island of Hulhumale

Three suspected Islamic extremists have been arrested in the Maldives for stabbing two Chinese nationals and an Australian.

The three men were attacked on Tuesday on Hulhumale, an island four miles north of the capital Male.

The men are recovering in hospital.

A Maldivian group affiliated with the Islamic State group have taken responsibility for the attack in a video posted online, local media reported.

Police are investigating the authenticity of the video.

"The Maldives police service has arrested three suspects under a court warrant in relation to the stabbing of three foreign nationals," the force said in a statement.

One of the Chinese nationals was a tourist and the two others were employed in the country, police said, adding all three were in a stable condition.

A 35-year-old local man was arrested in the South Asian island nation last year after the US called him a recruiter for Islamic State in Syria and Afghanistan.

The man was also thought to have been behind a 2007 bomb attack in Male, which injured a dozen tourists.